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GE Fanuc Adopts OPC Unified Architecture

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — GE Fanuc Automation Inc., a unit of GE Industrial, announced that it is building its next generation Proficy solutions based on the new OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) standards. The announcement was made at ARC Advisory Group's 14th Annual Forum "Driving Enterprise Performance Through Next Generation Manufacturing Concepts."

"This effort is an extension of the open and layered approach that we have been using for years with our Proficy software," said Pete Sage, GE Fanuc chief software architect. "GE Fanuc is committed to supporting standards as a key element of our product development strategy, and OPC helps us with that.

"The real advantage is for the customer," Sage continued. "By taking a standards-based approach to product development, interoperability with best-of-breed products becomes simpler. As the industry standardizes on ISA-95 for data models and OPC UA to talk to those data models, it becomes simpler for multiple vendors' products to work together."

GE Fanuc is a founding member of OPC and an active participant in the development of the OPC UA specification. The specification is a result of analysis and design to develop a standard interface to facilitate the development of servers and clients by multiple vendors that can subsequently interoperate seamlessly. The architecture provides secure, reliable communications that are the product of collaboration with other Web services standards organizations.

The OPC UA specification provides the standard interface that applications can use to access a spectrum of data. GE Fanuc's Proficy software leverages ISA-88 and ISA-95-compliant data models that will be able to be shared through the open industry interface so the data model can be further extended through additional applications.

About GE Fanuc Automation GE Fanuc Automation Corp., a joint venture between GE and FANUC LTD of Japan, delivers automation hardware and software designed to help users reduce costs, increase efficiency, and enhance profitability. With solutions and services catering to virtually every industrial segment, GE Fanuc Automation provides a diverse array of capabilities and products, including controllers, embedded systems, advanced software, motion control, CNCs, operator interfaces, industrial computers, and lasers. Headquartered in Charlottesville, Va, GE Fanuc Automation is a part of GE Industrial and combines the diverse global strengths of the GE family, with the local presence customers need to design, develop and maintain their automation investments.